Sun slowly began to rise from behind the mountain range in the east, illuminating the tall spire that served as the center of the Crystal Empire. And as such, those residing now in the tower were the first to wake up at the crack of dawn, but none were as early as a little filly that’s been overly excited that her favorite aunt came to visit.
With a low creaking sound the little filly opened one of the castle’s many doors to the guest rooms; she had no idea in which one Twilight was spending the night, so she might as well just start with the first one.
“Aunt Twily?” the child said as she peeped inside.
Nobody answered. There was certainly somebody in the room though, as a big lump lay in bed under the cover… along with something else on top. Curiosity got the better of her so she entered and approached. As she finally got to the bedside, she saw that what sat on the bed was a giant jar with strange black goo inside… and it was moving. She leaned on the edge of the bed so she could get a closer look as the substance inside began to swirl, noticing a single light inside of it. That’s when it began to rise, and then… it opened its mouth at her and hissed. The filly gasped and fell backward, but it wasn’t over yet, as the creature inside began to bash against the glass until it finally tipped over and began to roll it over the edge. And just when it was about to happen… a clump of black and grey hair wrapped around it, preventing any further movement.
“Morning, so soon?” a voice came with a yawn as the lump finally rose on the bed, covering the figure’s features. “But first, who dared to wake me, the buffoon!”
The child didn’t recognize the voice, it didn’t belong to her aunt or any of her friends she knew, it only confirmed her realization too, when the cover came off, revealing a grey equine with black stripes, with a black and white mane that stood up straight.
“You’re not Aunt Twily!” Flurry Heart exclaimed.
In another room, the light already began to shine inside, something that the smaller occupant didn’t appreciate as he turned in his bed to avoid eye contact. The other one didn’t mind though. Twilight rose from her bed and stretched out. It was refreshing to wake up in the morning again without any tormenting forces being involved.
“Spike, time to get up,” she told him.
The little dragon mumbled under his cover. “Just five more minutes…”
“No time for sleeping in today, Spike,” she said as she rose from her bed. “We got a lot of work ahead of us today.”
She brushed her mane as she pulled the cover off her companion, who did not appreciate the gesture, but after some time there was no way for him to keep his eyes shut any longer. He rose and slowly joined his big sister as she was about to walk out of the bedroom.
The duo walked out into the illuminated crystal hallway that had many doors, and as soon as they exited their room, the other residents slowly started popping out one after another.
“Mornin’ y’all,” Applejack greeted.
“Cheers, everypony,” Rarity responded. “We need to have trips to the Crystal Empire more often. All that morning glamour is so uplifting.”
Fluttershy came out, with the draconequus hanging around her neck. “Please try to be a bit quieter, he’s had a bad night.”
“Did he have dreams about his dad?” Pinkie Pie asked, to which the pegasus nodded.
The gang was coming together, but two members were still absent. The door to the zebra’s room was slightly opened and a muffled sound could be heard from the inside. But the other?
Twilight walked over to the door and knocked on it. “Rainbow Dash? Are you awake?”
A loud sneeze followed as a response. All the other mares joined her as she opened the door to look inside. The blue pegasus lay in bed with multiple bed covers and blankets on top of her, with a thermometer in her mouth and a box of tissues on her side, making sniffing sounds.
“Rainbow Dash, are you feeling alright?” Fluttershy asked.
She coughed. “Yeah… sure, why wouldn’t I be?”
“What’s all of this then?” Rarity came in. “You weren't like this yesterday? What happened?”
“I dunno…” She sniffled. “It’s probably because of the cold northern wind that came into the room when I had the window open all night.”
The Princess of Friendship looked at the open window, knowing full well that she too had it open all night. She knew where this was going.
The alicorn walked over to the rainbow-maned pony and put her hoof on her forehead. “Oh my. Rainbow Dash, you’re burning up. I think you got a fever.”
“Aww shucks,” the wonderbolt complained, as she lightly coughed. “I’m so sorry, guys. Seems I’ll be forced to stay here until I get better.”
The party planner jumped to the front. “Don’t worry Dashy, we’ll stay right here with you until you get better.” She zoomed away and came back with a cup of tea. “Make sure you drink plenty of liquids.”
The fashionista traipsed over to her side and puffed up her pillow. “You’ll need a lot of rest too, deary.”
The patient sniffed. “Thanks, guys. You’re the best.”
“There’s still one more thing left: we’ll need to do something to keep that high temperature of yours down. Which means we’ll need…” Twilight said with a smug smile, as she conjured a medical bag. “Lots and lots of… ICE.”
And as she predicted, the reaction followed. At the moment she summoned the ice bag, the pegasus’ eyes opened wide and with a scream leaped into the air, clinging on to the chandelier on the ceiling, trembling in fear.
“Well, Ah’ll be… Ah don’t think Ah’ve seen somepony get cured of fever this quickly,” Applejack quipped.
A burst of collective laughter followed, much to Rainbow Dash’s annoyance, who let go of the chandelier, opened her wings, and slowly fell back on the bed.
“Oh, for the love of… was that really necessary?” a voice of annoyance spoke.
It seems the sudden cry woke up Discord, who was still hanging around Fluttershy’s neck, sticking one of his fingers into his ears. Soon the sound of galloping hooves followed from outside, as the other missing member finally joined.
“I heard someone yelp. Who needs my help?” The zebra rushed into the room.
To the surprise of everybody present, she wasn’t alone. The little alicorn filly sat on her back, propping herself on the back of her head, squashing her mane in the process.
“Stripy Lady talks funny,” Flurry Heart giggled.
They all had a good laugh about it as they left the room, except for one who was left with a sour expression on her face.
“Ah reckon we should go get breakfast, everypony,” the country pony said as they walked down the hallway. “We’ll have a long day ahead of us.”
“Dibs on the pancakes!” the party planner exclaimed.
“Not if I get them first!” Spike interjected.
When they came to an intersection, however, the alicorn had a different idea in mind. “You all go ahead and start without me. I need to find Starlight so I can update her on the situation.”
“You’ll not go alone,” Zecora intervened, “for I must ask for something of my own.”
“I’m coming too!” Flurry Heart said as she leaped off the zebra and onto her aunt’s back.
As the trio walked off, the dragon stopped and ran after them. “Wait for me!”
“And then there were five,” Applejack said as the rest of the Council of Friendship was left standing by themselves.
“Five?” a voice asked. “What am I? Clam chowder?”
It belonged to the draconequus, who felt slightly insulted by the fact that it was just insinuated that he wasn’t present.
“Sorry, the present company accepted.” The orange earth pony gave him an awkward smile.
“Watch out! I’m gonna get you!” the dragon said playfully.
A high-pitched squeal zoomed around as Flurry Heart fled all over the place, trying to evade Spike’s pursuit. Galloping, flying, even an occasional teleport to keep ahead of him. Meanwhile, the two mares walked down the street, with the alicorn inquiring about the zebra’s motivations.
“So, both Maud and Mudbriar are here as well?” Twilight asked. “Had you just waited a bit and I could’ve probably figured it out for you, Zecora.”
“Forgive me, Twilight, but it was called for and done,” she explained herself. “After the day’s events, this I could not shun.”
The princess sighed. “Of course not. Mind you, it’s still going to take us some time to find any of them. The Crystal Empire is huge, they could be anywhere.”
The players of cat and mouse ran and jumped on top of each of the mares, then between the two, rushing forward and into the crystal market ahead, which spelled misfortune considering it was cluttered.
“Flurry Heart, be careful!” Spike called out.
It was already too late. The little alicorn dashed between the passers-by and it didn’t take long before she bumped into one of the customers carrying a heavy load. A single nudge caused the unbalance that toppled giant crates. The dragon rushed to the filly’s side and grabbed her to try and evade it, but they were too slow. At the moment when he thought they were done for, a yellow shield popped up, enveloping both of them, while at the same time, as she always did when she was frightened, raising her wings as a cover.
Nothing happened. The crates should’ve already fallen on them, but instead, they were levitating in the air, a few hooves above them, enveloped in the teal aura. A pink mare appeared from the side, immediately recognized the perpetrators or at least one of them.
“Spike?! What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Starlight?” he responded in a muffled tone inside the bubble, as the little filly was still cowering by his side, quivering in fear. “Hey, hey, Flurry, it’s okay. No need to be afraid anymore, it’s over.”
She finally opened her eyes and saw the crates being put back, dropping the shield. The sound of galloping hooves soon followed behind them as the child’s aunt and the shaman soon arrived at the scene, the former almost instantly plucking the little filly off the ground.
“Flurry Heart, are you okay?!” she panicked. “You’re not hurt, are you?!”
“I’m fine, aunt Twily. Miss Glimmy saved ‘Pike and me,” the child said as she got snuggled up to her face.
The purple alicorn finally regarded the savior. “Thanks for turning up when you did, Starlight.”
“I think a more proper say would be that she bumped right into us,” the headmare smiled.
“Us?” Twilight asked.
“By us, she’s referring to herself and us two.”
Another voice answered. There was this obnoxious tone to it that immediately gave it away who it was. A stallion walked around the stack of boxes, revealing himself. He was tall and lanky, his fur and mane were bland earthly colors, and his cutie mark… a stick in mud. Another one appeared soon after, this time a mare. She was considerably shorter than him, the tone of her fur was grey, yet her mane was purple, and she wore a dress of dark blue. One thing they both had in common, however, was the neutral expression on their faces.
“Ah, the earthly scholar and the enjoyer of wood,” the zebra responded to their appearance. “I truly didn’t think our fortune would be this good.”
“Maud? Mudbriar? What are you two doing here?” Twilight questioned.
“We’re on an anniversary trip for our three-year of going steady,” the Pie sibling spoke in her typical emotionless voice.
“Technically, the trip’s already over, so it’s more like a vacation,” the other earth pony answered, “and technically, it’s not the anniversary until tomorrow.”
“Rrrrrrrrrrrrright… what they said,” Starlight Glimmer just agreed. “Anyway, what are you doing in Crystal Empire, Twilight? And why did you bring Zecora along?”
The alicorn sighed as she put her niece on her back. “Starlight, so much has happened since you left the other day. It’s like this…”
Both Twilight and Zecora pitched in on explaining the course of events that took place in the last two days to help the principal and her two friends to catch up, while the little filly played with her mane. As they did, however, they weren’t aware of a figure lurking in the background, watching them intently, stealthily approaching, and closely listening to what they were saying.
“Wait, wait, Twilight! Grogar? Gusty? Turmoil? This… this is too much to take in all at once,” the headmare said to her former teacher.
“I understand, Starlight,” she reassured her. “But this is how it is. We came to the Crystal Empire in hopes that we might get a clue where to find one of Turmoil’s missing pieces, but as it turns out Zecora found it for us.”
“Now since we’re on the matter of finding, what qualities in the rock samples did you find worth minding?” the shaman inquired.
“Funny you should mention it, Zecora,” Starlight answered, “they figured it out like five minutes ago.”
“Technically,” Mudbriar responded, “it was Maud who figured it out in a few seconds, at first glance. We just met barely five minutes ago.”
After he finished, his significant other reached into her bag and pulled out the two rock pieces, and Starlight levitated them over to Zecora. “The bright one is pumice, and the dark one is obsidian.”
“Wow, you really know your rocks, Maud. Then again, considering where you live it shouldn’t be at all surprising you were able to figure it out so quickly,” Twilight said.
“That is entirely an incorrect notion,” Mudbirar answered. “Because by all accounts, these two types of rock being anywhere near Ponyville or Everfree Forest, makes no sense.”
“What do you mean, Mudbriar?” Starlight was confused.
The rock mare immediately answered. “Pumice is created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is violently ejected from a volcano. The foam-like texture is made by the rapid cooling and depressurization, which means that the likely place to be found is underwater, and has, therefore, a unique property of being able to absorb moisture.”
“In the same vein,” her boyfriend resumed, “obsidian is commonly found within the margins of rhyolitic lava flows, which have a high content of silica, giving them a high viscosity in which the atoms defuse, and coupled with the rapid cooling, it creates a natural glass that is both hard and brittle at the same time.”
“In other words, they’re both volcanic-based rocks.” Everybody else looked at them when they said that sentence in unison.
“You know,” after it passed, Twilight thought for a moment, “you two actually make a good point. How could a volcanic rock exist in a place that doesn’t have volcanoes?”
“It doesn’t make sense, Twilight,” Spike entered the conversation. “Especially with the mess in which Canterlot and Ponyville were left after Discord turned the Everfree Forest upside-down. The only nearest place with volcanoes is the Dragon Lands.”
“It would make sense…” the headmare voiced her opinion. “If the rocks were brought from there in the first place.
Starlight’s thought did seem logical and it all pointed to that, but there was still one more that hasn’t voiced hers.
“What do you think, Zecora?” Twilight asked the mare next to her.
She didn’t answer. Come to think of it, since she was given the rocks back she hasn’t made any gestures at all. She was just staring into the dark glistening rock, observing her own reflection. There was something in the back of her head that didn’t give her peace. A dark, reflective, solid matter, she’s seen something alike in very recent memory.
The Princess of Friendship nudged the zebra. “Zecora, what’s wrong?”
She finally reacted. “Princess and friends, though I dread to think what this portends, I may know where the obsidian’s source ends.”
“What do you mean, Zecora?” Spike asked. “Didn’t we establish that this rock can’t be found in Equestria?”
“True, little dragon, the rock has no place in this land, old or new, though it doesn’t deny the purpose it hides from view,” she explained, “Dark and lustrous, yet rough like a sting, I’ve little doubt it carried the remnants of the umbrum king.“
“Wait…” Twilight stopped her. “You mean the dark, cloaked figure you mentioned? The texture of its body was the same as obsidian?”
Zecora nodded.
“So, what she’s basically saying is that there’s a construct made of obsidian wandering through the frozen wasteland, doing the bidding of whatever that evil called Turmoil is? But why?” Starlight wondered. “Why would they send it, instead of sending Chrysalis and Grogar to find one of its fragments themselves?”
“My only guess would be that they’re trying to cover more ground,” the alicorn said the first possibility that came to mind. “Which means that both Chrysalis and Grogar are likely not even anywhere near the Crystal Empire and are trying to recover one of the other fragments elsewhere.”
“But Twilight, that would mean…” Spike tried to speak only to be cut off.
“We’re running out of time more than we originally thought!” Twilight stressed out. “We need to get back to the castle and warn everypony, and then immediately depart for the Frozen North.”
Both the zebra and dragon agreed with her, however, there was one small voice of protest to what was just said. “You’re leaving already…?”
The purple alicorn recognized the distinct tone of voice, and she feared where it was going, so she plucked the little filly on her back and brought her to her front. “Flurry Heart, I know how happy you were that we all came to visit and you were looking forward to playing with us again, but please do try to understand that we came here with a mission, to begin with, we were never guaranteed to stay here for long. You do understand, right?”
There was an uneasy atmosphere in the air, everybody felt it, and they could see the expression on the little alicorn child’s face beginning to make a frown, her lips beginning to wobble, signaling that waterworks were about to break.
“Calm down, Flurry Heart. No need to get upset, what Twilight meant was-“ Spike tried to calm the rising situation, but it was already too late at this point.
It started with a low volume and after a few seconds, it rose to a high-pitched noise as the little filly began to cry. It didn’t last long, however, as her horn lit up and disappeared in a yellow flash. But the aftereffects remained, as the group was left standing there and the passers-by surrounding them were staring in their direction.
“You’re not very good at communicating with children, are you Miss Sparkle?” Mudbriar said, a choice of words for which he got angry looks from everybody present, including his girlfriend. “On second thought, I retract that last statement.”
“You three better go deal with that,” Starlight urged her former mentor.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” she responded. “But Starlight, I must ask you for a favor before I go. I’m not asking that you should leave the students in the lurch, but could you maybe go back to Ponyville and help Starswirl with his research?”
“But Twilight, me, Trixie, and Sunburst were about to take the students on to the next destination tomorrow, and you’re asking me to leave them? Why?” the headmare questioned her request.
“You’re the only other pony I know who’s skilled with magic and good at deciphering ancient texts. I figured two ponies could do more work than one,” she explained herself. “And this is the fate of Equestria we’re talking about.”
She was quiet for a moment, then sighed in defeat. “Trixie and Sunburst aren’t gonna forgive me for this.”
“Hey, if they’re your friends, they will,” the alicorn reassured her.
She smiled. “I’ll leave first thing tomorrow when we all depart.”
That was good enough for her. Without delay, she took a few steps back, her horn lit on, and with a flash, the princess, her companion, and the shaman disappeared.
“It’s a pity Pinkie couldn’t stay,” Maud said in a neutral tone. “She could have organized our anniversary party.”
“A minor inconvenience,” her boyfriend reassured her. “We’ll just stick to the original plan.”
“Well… good luck to both of you on that one,” Starlight said before slowly traipsing away with a sigh. “I have to go and break the news to the rest of the gang.”
The group finally dispersed, but the figure creeping in the back, listening to the conversation, was still there. And now it made its way through the morning shadows to relay what she overheard.
While the two mares, the dragon and filly were out, the rest of the Council of Friendship were deep in the breakfast situation, and by now, the dining room in the castle had already quieted down. The tranquility however would not last for long. Outside the room, there was a low flashing sound, followed immediately by a loud child’s cry.
“Flurry Heart?!” the mother immediately jumped off her chair at the sound of her daughter crying.
There was a light sound of tapping hooves as the filly galloped away, and by the time Cadence opened the doors to the dining room to check on her, another flash happened right in front of her, materializing three figures.
“Flurry Heart, please, I know this sounded bad, I was just-!“ the purple alicorn stopped mid-sentence when she realized her sister-in-law was standing right beside her.
“Twilight, what’s just happened?” the Princess of Love asked with a noticeable tone of anger in her voice.
“Bad timing,” Spike quickly answered.
“Care to elaborate?”
“Well,” Twilight explained herself, “we went to try and find Starlight Glimmer, and we happened to bump into her, as well as Maud Pie and Mudbriar, and after an exchange of information we came to the conclusion that our situation may be more urgent than we thought yesterday, so I said we needed to leave for the Frozen North right away and… well, Flurry Heart didn’t take it too well.”
Cadence’s tone of voice finally mellowed down. “I wish there was a better way to tell her. Ever since Shining Armor left for Abyssinia she has been rather down. With all the work we have to deal with running the Empire we normally change shifts on who plays with her, and now that he’s not here, poor little Flurry is all alone most of the time.”
“Doesn’t she have anypony else to play with?” the dragon asked.
She shook her head. “I’m afraid not. It may be shocking to hear, but she doesn’t have any friends her age. I was hoping that you and your friends could help lighten her up since you sent the message that you would come, I just didn’t think you would be leaving so soon.”
“Neither did we, Cadence,” Twilight tried to smooth things up. “I didn’t want to upset her, but-“
“I know it’s not your fault, Twilight. There’s nothing to apologize for,” the Crystal Princess assured her.
“Still, I should go and talk to-“ this time another halted the younger alicorn from speaking, as her black hoof reached out to her.
“At the risk of sounding like a bother, this moment requires the light touch of a mother,” Zecora told her.
The Princess of Love sighed. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’ll go and have a talk with her. You go and tell your friends what you’ve figured out in the meantime.”
“Okay…” Twilight relented.
As Cadence trotted off, the trio in the meantime headed into the dining room where the rest of the gang was gathered.
“Twilight, what in tarnation happened out there?” Applejack asked.
“Let the professional deal with that problem, everypony,” she deflected the question, “we got a new development, and it’s urgent.”
The Crystal Princess approached the doors of the room that was slightly opened. Her daughter was inside and she needed to be coddled.
“Flurry?” she called.
She slowly opened the door with a creaking sound, only to find no light source present. But even in the dim light, she could clearly see a tiny shape huddled by the side of the bed.
“Flurry sweetie, is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yes…” the filly said.
The mother knew better. The child was hugging a stuffed toy resembling a snail, her “Whammy”, as she called it, she would always hold it when she was upset.
She approached her and sat down by her side. “Come on, sweetie, you can tell mommy what’s wrong.”
She could see the grip on her toy tightening before she answered. “Aunt Twily doesn’t like me.”
“Oh come now, dearie, that can’t be right. What makes you think that?” she asked.
“She and her friends came, and now they’re going again. We didn’t even play any games,” the filly told her.
The mother put her hoof around her. “Oh, Sweetie Heart, I know you’re not happy. But aunt Twily and her friends came this way because they have work to do, just like daddy does.”
And then it came. First with a whimper, followed by a snivel, and ended with a loud sob. At the moment’s notice, the Princess of Love scooped the weeping filly into her embrace.
“I miss daddy!” she cried.
“I know, Flurry, I miss him too,” she cuddled her, “but daddy had to go do an important job, just as I’m doing it every day, just as aunt Twily and her friends have to. I know how hard it is to have somepony leave when you don’t want them to.” She caressed the child’s mane, trying to calm her down. “But do you know what the good part is?”
The filly looked at her mother with glistening eyes, tears still streaming down her cheeks, shaking her head, and she gave her a bright smile. “You know that they’ll come back one day. Daddy may be gone right now, but he’ll come back someday and he’ll be able to play with you again. And just the same, you can expect aunt Twily to come back after she’s done her job up north, and then she and her friends will be able to play with you.”
A subtle smile appeared on the child’s mouth. Perhaps mother’s words did help if only a little.
“Do you still think aunt Twily and her friends don’t like you?” she asked her.
“No…” Flurry answered under the stream of tears.
Cadence brought over a box of tissues and wiped her face. “Can you then forgive her that she doesn’t have time right now?”
“Okay…”
Within the darkness of the abandoned house, the dark light illuminated the dim living room, as its only current resident kept flipping through the pages. His ears twitched as he heard the creaking sound of the door; she’s returned.
“I’ve some news, Grogar,” she said as she sauntered around the corner.
“I do hope they’re better than what I have to deal with.” He dropped the book and it landed on the floor with a loud thud. “None of the books here contained any mention of where the prison is.”
The Queen of Changeling’s head tilted. “Are you kidding me? Two days and you got absolutely nothing?”
“No… I tell a lie,” the old ram corrected himself. “There is one passage mentioned in the book of ‘Amore: The First Crystal Princess’, the one who created the Crystal Heart, saying that deep in the Crystal Caverns beneath the city she stored numerous magics too dangerous to be left unprotected.”
“I fear I’ll have to disappoint you on that front, Grogar. My changelings have swept the city for any nooks and crevices, and I, unfortunately, have to say they found no underground caverns.”
“Yes, that is unfortunate…” The ram stroked his beard. “However, if the book mentions these caverns existing, yet the entrance cannot be found around the city, it can only mean that the caverns are inaccessible to the outside world, and the only entrance could be found in a place that ONLY the Crystal Princess herself would have access to.”
“The only such place you speak of is the Crystal Castle,” Chrysalis added, “but the structure’s designed in a way that it would be impossible to reach underground in any plausible way.”
He only said one word in response. “A portal.”
She looked at him confusingly after that word was said.
“The only answer is that there’s a portal leading to it that can only be found inside the castle,” he explained. “That’s where our goal is, Queen of Changelings. We need to get inside and search the place.”
“Oh sure,” Queen Chrysalis put on her joking tone, “we’ll go to the castle’s entrance, knock on the door, and say: “Excuse me, princess. Do you happen to have any portals in possession that you’re not using? No no, it’s for no particular reason, we’re just trying to find a sealed vault where the horrors and terrors that once plagued your Empire are locked away.”.”
Grogar was looking at her with an unamused expression. “There’s no need to be snide, Queen of Changelings.”
“Well, you invited it yourself,” she resumed talking in her serious tone. “The castle is one of the most guarded places in the Empire.”
“And now they’re anticipating that we might get here. It will be difficult trying to sneak in without arousing suspicion,” he added.
“That’s not entirely true,” she corrected him.
The ram raised his eyebrow. “Oh? Care to elaborate?”
She relayed the information. “I have some positive news. The ponies, they’ll be leaving for the Frozen North soon.”
He frowned. “That’s positive news?”
“Don’t you get it, you old sheep?” she said in a frustrated tone. “They’re leaving the city, which means we’ll be able to move about without too much fear of being discovered.”
“From where I stand, it doesn’t sound positive,” he answered.
“Grogar, what are you talking about?” Chrysalis was confused.
He sighed. “You don’t get it, do you, Queen of Changelings? Those ponies, after somehow escaping my trap, have come here soon after, and are now moving to the Frozen North. Don’t you find it kind of suspicious?”
“Ah,” she made a quick response, “I know what you’re referring to. I overheard them talking. In fact, they seemed to have figured out who’s out there.”
“So… they figured out that the rug rat is out in the wastes then?” He paced up and down. “This is most unfortunate. Just as they somehow managed to escape their fate, so too they somehow figured out what our next move is.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, Grogar,” a grin appeared on her face. “They don’t suspect a thing. In fact, from what they just learned, they don’t believe we’re actually here.”
The old ram stopped in his tracks. “Well… perhaps fortune is on our side after all. Still, that doesn’t negate our current predicament about entering the castle.” He turned to the changeling queen. “Was there anything else? What were they doing while you were listening?”
“Well, mostly just explaining what happened since the Jagged Ridge,” she explained, “then they talked about how they managed to see the pile of rocks, and after they said they’ll be leaving right away, the Princess Cadence’s brat, who just so happened to be Princess Twilight’s niece, threw a temper tantrum after she heard it. That’s all there is.”
The Father of Monster stroked his beard again. After a few moments, a devilish grin appeared on his face.
The Pillar of Hatred noticed his behavior. “Do you have a plan, Grogar?”
He turned his head to her. “I believe the time has come to put plan B into motion, Queen of Changelings.”
“Wait… Are you referring to what you said the other day?” She wasn’t sure if he was being serious.
His eyes flashed. “Oh yes… the current situation has given us an advantage that we cannot pass up. All we need to do now… is wait at the right place, at the right time.”
Everybody has been caught up on the situation by now. They couldn’t waste much more time so they all gathered in the hallway, all geared up for the expedition, wearing heavy clothing and carrying all sorts of winter equipment.
“So you’re all set then?” Cadence asked them.
“As best as we can be,” Twilight responded. “Although who or whatever we’re tracking down has a good head start over us.”
“If that thing you and Zecora mentioned, is made of stone, it’s likely moving really slow,” Applejack noted.
“Yeah, we should be able to catch up to it in no time,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Wow, Dashy, does that mean you got over your fear of ice?” Pinkie instantly asked.
And at the moment’s notice the pegasus’ confidence immediately plummeted into noticeable silence.
“Well,” Twilight tried to divert the conversation, “be that as it may, even if our target is slow we’ll still need to track it down out in the frozen wasteland.”
The Princess of Love tapped her chin. “You know, I think I may be able to assist on that part.”
“But Cadence, you’re not planning to go with us, are you?” Fluttershy inquired.
A head poked out of the fanny pack around her neck, one that belonged to the former Lord of Chaos. “If that’s the case and you require a babysitter, count me out. Getting asphyxiated isn’t healthy, especially when one doesn’t have the ability to fight back.”
The older alicorn giggled. “No, of course not. Nothing as such, but I do know a couple of ponies that are stationed at the Arctic Patrol Office on the border. Maybe you can ask for their assistance. There’s a likelihood that they spotted something out of the ordinary as they do their usual rounds near the Frozen North.”
“Thanks for the tip, Cadence,” Twilight answered.
“It’s no problem. Besides, it will be nice for her to meet an old friend after such a long time.”
“Her?” the Princess of Friendship wondered who her former babysitter was referring to.
She giggled. “Don’t worry, you’ll get it when you see her.”
“Alright, y’all!” the country pony announced. “We’re all set, let get going!”
As the group, slowly made their way out of the castle, the Princess of Friendship lagged behind. “Cadence, about Flurry Heart, is she…?”
“I talked to her, Twilight,” the Princess of Love answered. “She doesn't want to see you go away. She’s not happy, but I got her to understand you’re not doing this out of spite.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “I’ll try and make up to her when we get back.”
“Thanks, Twilight.” The Crystal Princess smiled.
The company left the castle down the main road, leading north. From the tall spire, however, a single little filly was still all alone in her room, holding her Whammy, watching out the window as they left. Her mother’s words helped, but she was still sad to see her aunt and her friends leave, just like her father did. All she wanted was to have somebody she could play with.
Suddenly, there was a sound of flapping wings and something landed next to her. She gasped in shock and tumbled backward onto her bed. A bird sat on the window, but it looked unlike anything she’s ever seen: it had the head and body of a lion, trunk, and tusks of an elephant, the comb of a rooster, and bird wings. It jumped onto the bed and slowly approached her, leaving her terrified, as it slowly reached with its trunk for her… only to bop her nose, and then tickle her, causing her to squeal. The avian creature started hopping around her, then jumping on top of her head and bopping her nose again, before jumping off. Flurry Heart tried to reach for the strange creature, and it moved before she could touch it, and when she tried again it did the same, playfully bopping her nose at the end. At that moment, the little filly charged at it, turning the situation into a cat and mouse game, as she ran around her bedroom, chasing the weird bird, laughing as she did. Suddenly, while being pursued, the creature jumped on to window's edge, wiggling its tailfeathers at her before flying away, and without a second thought, the little alicorn did the same and chased after it.
They flew a considerable distance before it landed on one of the city streets and they continued the chase on foot, dodging between passers-by before it made a sharp turn around the corner and into an alley. Just when the child made a turn as well, she instead bumped into something, causing her to fall on her back.
“Oh, my goodness,” a voice said, “are you okay, little girl?”
The silky voice belonged to a tall, white unicorn mare with a green mane and a single pink stripe in it, her cutie mark resembling a cluster of leaves.
Flurry Heart was enveloped in a green aura and raised to her height. “You really need to be more careful, sweetie. You can’t just run about without ignoring others in the way…” she suddenly stopped. “Wait… you’re the daughter of Princess Cadence, aren’t you? What are you doing out here all alone?”
“A birdy with long nose came into my room and I tried to catch it,” the filly answered.
“Oh,” the mare responded as she put her back on the ground, “you’re talking about my grandfather’s pet, aren’t you?”
She stepped aside as to not obscure the child’s vision. The little alicorn saw the weird creature standing next to a figure, being petted on the head. But whoever it was, she couldn’t tell, as the owner wore a deep blue cloak with a cowl, obscuring his features, except for the single blue-furred bristled hoof.